Many of us shoo our children out of the kitchen while we're making a meal. However, it actually makes more sense to include children in food preparation. Cooking together not only teaches kids about food, but it widens their appetite for a variety of healthy foods, according to Susan B. Roberts, PhD, a senior scientist at Tufts University and author of the book, Feeding Your Child for Lifelong Health: Birth Through Age Six (Bantam, 1999).
"Kids who cook feel more comfortable with new foods and are especially likely to feel comfortable eating healthy foods if they have cooked them, smelled them during preparation, and made them look appetizing themselves," says Roberts.
Many of us show our children out of the kitchen while we're making a meal. However, it actually makes more sense to include children in food preparation. Cooking together not only teaches kids about food, but it widens their appetite for a variety of healthy foods, according to Susan B. Roberts, PhD, a senior scientist at Tufts University and author of the book, Feeding Your Child for Lifelong Health: Birth Through Age Six (Bantam, 1999).
"Kids who cook feel more comfortable with new foods and are especially likely to feel comfortable eating healthy foods if they have cooked them, smelled them during preparation, and made them look appetizing themselves," says Roberts.
Children can start helping out in the kitchen at an early age — even toddlers can pitch in. "My daughter made salad with me from about 2," Roberts says. "She would wash and tear up lettuce and mix together dressing ingredients, and we had a wonderful time while she was doing it." At age 3, children can help make healthy breakfast items such as pumpkin bread. And, they can shape bread dough into rolls (to save time, make a batch of whole wheat dough in your bread machine). "Getting them to shape bread rolls at this age is also a great way to make whole wheat bread enjoyable," Roberts says.
Another great food for kids to make is pizza. Whip up a batch of pizza dough in your bread machine (or buy it in your grocery store) and have your children customize their pizza with tomato sauce and healthy toppings such as reduced-fat cheese, peppers, mushrooms, onions, sliced tomatoes, and even pineapple chunks.
For recipe ideas, Roberts suggests avoiding cookbooks aimed at kids and instead, choosing simpler recipes in adult cookbooks. "The most important thing is to make things that taste good, and kid recipes are often oversimplified to the point that they don't taste great." As long as you are there to interpret the recipe (and to handle dangerous jobs such as slicing with a sharp knife and using the stove or oven) virtually any adult recipe works well with children.
Cooking with kids allows both parents and children to enjoy healthy foods and to develop their cooking skills. "The only way you learn to cook is with practice," says Roberts, "so by letting your kids join you in the kitchen, you are not only having a great time together — true quality time — but you are also giving them the skills they need to be able to eat a healthy diet in the future."
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
sad
shocked
tired
cheerful
contemplative
hungry
determined
sick
sleepy
awake